Campaign Corral: Water woes, A-list endorsements

This story was reported for the San Diego News Network on May 25, 2010.

See original copy of story.

Two weeks away from the June 8 election. The last day to register was Monday, ballots are being mailed out (though I haven’t received mine yet and I’m quite jealous of those who did), candidates and their campaign managers are feeling the heat, and political fashionistas like me are deciding which outfit will go best with our “I Voted” sticker on June 8.

I know, you’re just as excited as I am. (I’m thinking black polka dot dress and red pumps. The red will indiscreetly bring out the red in the sticker and I have a feeling red pumps will go out of style by the general election.)

In the corral this week are two candidates for City Council answering our nonpolitical question of the week, as well as a complete round-up of what’s going on from the local races to the federal.

Featured race — San Diego City Council District 2:

Councilmember Kevin Faulconer and his opponent, Democrat Patrick Finucane, were asked the following question: What is the greatest crisis we face as a world? Unfortunately, no word from Faulconer, whose busy fulfilling his councilmember duties right now, according to his staff. But here’s what his opponent wrote via e-mail:

“The greatest crisis we face as a world today is access to clean drinking water. According to the World Health Organization, about 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. 3.5 million people die every year because they lack access to clean water and over 80% of them are children. A child dies every 20 seconds because of water-related disease.

As San Diegans, this is a problem we can relate to. Here in San Diego we are lucky to live in a wealthy county with greater resources, but the future of our water supply is far from secure. By importing 90% of our water, we are at the mercy of all the users upstream of us for both price and quality. Our city leaders need to do more to plan for the future. With continued development and climate change, demand for water is increasing while the supplies are become scarce.”

Other campaigns:

Brian Barry Pollard — who is running against incumbent Councilmember Tony Young in San Diego’s Fourth District — is still knocking on the doors of voters. He has four walks scheduled up until Election Day with two of them happening this weekend.

Also knocking on doors this weekend are the young San Diego Young Democrats for Humberto Peraza who is running for Chula Vista City Council Seat 2 and David Alvarez who is trying to win a San Diego City Council seat in District Eight. The Young Dems are planning to support Peraza on Saturday with a mid-day walk and Alvarez on Sunday in the morning.

Stephen Whitburn seems to be rocking at his campaign. The front-runner against Supervisor Ron Roberts in the County District Four race posted on Facebook that supporters seem to be losing his yard signs. On Sunday, Whitburn’s status read: “Several of you tell me your yard signs vanished. I can’t imagine how. Rhymes with… lawn robbers?” Despite the setback, Whitburn noted that he ran out of door hangers and will order more when he has enough funding.

Jay La Suer, running against Jim Duffy and Bill Gore for San Diego County Sheriff, will have a meet and greet at Barret Junction Café in Dulzura. The candidate, who has received the endorsement of Sheriff Jeff Arpaio, will meet with voters beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

At the state level, Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher fulfilled a civic task Monday by reminding those on Facebook that it was the last day to register to vote in June. He added one tip in his reminder though. He wrote, “If you plan to vote for me on June 8th — today is the last day to register. If you plan to vote for someone else please disregard message : -)”

Mike Paster — a Libertarian running against Rep. Darrell Issa in the 49th Congressional District — is lobbying against Proposition 14, a measure that would allow all voters to choose any candidate regardless of party affiliation during primary elections. (Check out more info on the propositions on this SDNN page.) Paster links to a “Vote NO on Proposition 14” video on his Facebook asking voters not to “believe the commercials the Governor is paying for.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his endorsement for Nick Popaditch, who is running against Rep. Bob Filner in the 51st Congressional District. In response to the endorsement of the major Republican player, Popaditch said he was “honored.”

In the next few days, look for a story on the race between Tracy Emblem and Francine Busby in the 50th Congressional District, details on the recall effort against Poway Councilmember Betty Rexford and the scoop on how campaigns are using social media this election year.

Until next week, vote on the poll and let us know if you have any questions on the ballot measures or candidates.